1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the automation of manufacturing pattern generation of apparel and accessory, wherein a design, image or text created by a user on a 3D model is captured and generated as patterns for manufacturing.
2. Description of Related Art
The concept of custom prints on apparel has been around for a long time. In most cases, users are allowed to design on a 2D model or “2D slices” of a 3D image created at various pre-defined angles. The method of designing on a 3D model is also not new. But in no case has a free-form design been allowed with images and text spanning seams, which are then used to automatically generate manufacturing patterns. Needless to say automation is the only way to guarantee that the accuracy of the images and text on the manufacturing patterns are the exact same as that the user designed. What is new in this invention is the use of manufacturing patterns as the basis for creating the UV maps, so that UV unwrapping produces the manufacturing patterns with the exact user design. This automates the manufacturing pattern generation of apparel and accessory, wherein a design created by a user on a 3D model is captured exactly and generated for manufacturing.
The use of UV maps for texturing and showing images on a 3D model has been around for decades. Almost all 3D editing software support the automatic generation of UV by projection, or other methods. These methods have been traditionally used for gaming and 3D animations, where the focus is on creating an UV to easily show realistic textures on the model, and never for manufacturing automation.